The cause of death of a 45-year-old man whose body was found in his flat could not be identified by experts.
An inquest into the death of Paul Ogden heard that the amount of time he had lain undiscovered had left doctors unable to confirm what had happened to him.
Addressing the inquest at Bootle Town Hall, Andrea Walton, coroner's investigation officer for Sefton, St Helens and Knowsley, said Mr Ogden’s body was found by police after his landlord raised concerns that he had not been seen for three weeks.
Officers attended his home on Alexandra Road, Southport, in December last year and found his body. Despite the uncertainty as to how he died, police were satisfied that no suspicious circumstances were involved.
Mr Ogden’s identity was confirmed by a dental surgeon.
A post-mortem was carried out and the results initially withheld pending the outcome of a Covid test which subsequently proved negative. Tests found no excessive levels of alcohol or drugs in his blood, while some checks were impossible to carry out due to the condition of Mr Ogden’s body.
The inquest heard that he had a history of schizophrenia and asthma, while his place of birth and former occupation remained unknown.
Recording an “unascertained” medical cause of death, senior coroner Julie Goulding said: “Due to challenges of decomposition, the post-mortem was unable to identify the cause of death however police were satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances involved.
“Paul had both physical and mental difficulties and had not been seen for around three weeks before his body was found by police.”
